This invention relates to devices capable of increasing air pressure within a bottle or other container, for example a beverage bottle.
It is well known that carbonated beverages will lose at least some of their pleasing taste if the carbonation contained in the beverage liquid is permitted to dissipate. The problem of the deterioration in the taste of a carbonated beverage is only partially alleviated by replacing the cap or cover on the top opening of the bottle, if this can be done at all. For example, in the case of a well-known plastic beverage container which has a top opening with external threads extending around the exterior of the opening, it is possible to seal this container again by replacing the cap which is internally threaded. However there is no means with even a container of this type for increasing the amount of pressure within the container after it has been opened. Further openings of the container of course allow more pressurized gas to escape into the atmosphere through the open top. In the case of some pop containers, such as metal cans and bottles with top outlets that are not threaded, it can be difficult if not impossible to reseal the container to prevent the carbonation from escaping.
A variety of pumping devices have been proposed in the past for repressurizing a beverage container in order to preserve the taste of the beverage. One such apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,877 which issued Jun. 25, 1985 to Willlard A. Saxby et al. This known pressurizing enclosure device includes an elongate cylinder with a threaded cap at one end and a piston passing through a circular opening in the cap and centrally located in the cylinder. The cap is threaded to the outside threads of the mouth of the container. There is a handgrip at one end of the piston member so this member can be moved up and down in the cylinder. A cup seal is mounted at the bottom end of the piston and at the bottom of the cylinder is a resilient pressure valve that permits air to flow out of ports in the bottom of this cylinder and into the container but air cannot flow in the reverse direction.
More recent U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,372 which issued Oct. 20, 1998 to Alan Levine teaches another form of pumping device for mounting in the top opening of a bottle, this device employing a hollow, resilient expandable and compressible bellows like body. The top end of this body has a flanged lip seal that is adapted to engage inside a standard bottle cap and there is a hole in the upper end. A membrane covers a normally sealed opening in the lower end of the body. A mounting collar extends around the lower end of the bellows member and can sealingly engage a bottle neck. One difficulty with this pump insert is that the bellows member is quite small and clearly the device would have to be operated repeatedly by moving the bottle cap upwardly and downwardly in order to add a reasonable amount of pressurized air to the interior of the bottle.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a relatively inexpensive apparatus that is both capable of sealing and pressurizing a container, such as a bottle, having an outlet in one end thereof and external threads extending around this outlet.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for sealing and pressurizing a container, such as a bottle, that is relatively easy to use and that can be operated to both seal and pressurize the container by simple rotation of an exterior body a predetermined amount.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for sealing and pressurizing a container that employs a simple resilient, expandable and compressible bellows and a simple mechanism for compressing the bellows in order to force air from the bellows into the container.
According to one aspect of the invention, an apparatus for sealing and pressurizing a bottle having an opening for allowing a liquid to flow out of the bottle, this opening being formed in an upper section of the bottle having external connecting threads formed thereon, includes a connecting and sealing member having a cavity capable of receiving the upper section of the bottle and internal connecting threads extending around the periphery of the cavity and adapted for engaging the external connecting threads of the bottle in order to detachably mount the apparatus on the bottle. There are resilient, expandable and compressible bellows having an opening for passage of air into and out of the bellows and a movable compressing member for engaging an end of the bellows, this member being capable of compressing the bellows when it is moved towards the bellows. A rotatable exterior body contains the bellows and engages the compressing member so that rotation of this body about a central axis thereof causes the compressing member to move towards the bellows. During use of the apparatus, compression of the bellows forces compressed air to flow from the bellows through the opening therein and into the bottle and the apparatus forms a sealing closure over the opening in the bottle.
Preferably the compressing member is an annular plate having an exterior edge and the exterior body has a cylindrical side wall with internal threads formed thereon, whereby the internal threads slidably engage the exterior edge of the plate.
According to another aspect of the invention, an apparatus for sealing and pressurizing a container having an outlet in one end thereof and external threads extending about this outlet includes a resilient, expandable and compressible bellows having an opening for air to pass into and out of the bellows. There is also a connecting member for detachably and sealingly mounting the bellows on the container at the outlet. This connecting member is formed with internal threads for engaging the external threads at the outlet and is connected to the bellows. A movable compressing member for engaging an end of the bellows is capable of compressing same when the compressing member is moved towards the bellows. A rotatable body engages said compressing member so that rotation of the body a predetermined amount causes the compressing body to move towards the bellows and compress same. When the apparatus is used and is connected to the container, compression of the bellows forces compressed air to flow from the bellows through the opening therein and into the container and the apparatus forms a sealing closure over the outlet.
A preferred connecting member forms a cylindrical cavity sized to receive the outlet of the container and having an open bottom. This connecting member has an upper end section adapted to sealingly engage a rim of the container outlet when the apparatus is connected to the container.
According to still another aspect of the invention, an apparatus for sealing and pressurizing a bottle having an opening on a top end section and external threads extending about this top end section includes an internal cap section having a bottom end with a bottom opening, a top end, and a generally cylindrical side wall located between these ends. The cap section forms a chamber adapted to receive at least a portion of said top end section and has internal threads formed in the chamber and adapted for engaging the external threads in order to detachably mount the apparatus on the bottle. An annular compressing plate is mounted on the cap section as to be moved upwardly or downwardly on the cylindrical side wall around which the compressing plate extends. This plate is non-rotatable relative to the cap section. A resilient, expandable and compressible bellows is located above the compressing plate and is arranged around the cap section. This bellows has an opening for passage of air into or out of the bellows. An exterior cover member has a cylindrical side wall that has interior threads formed on the inside thereof in operative engagement with the circumferential edge of the compressing plate. Rotation of the cover member in a predetermined direction to a sufficient extent causes the bellows to be compressed by upward movement of the compressing plate relative to the cap section. During use of the apparatus, the compression of the bellows forces compressed air to flow from inside of the bellows into the bottle and the apparatus forms a sealing closure over the opening and the top end section of the bottle.
In a preferred embodiment, the bellows has a central bottom aperture into which the cap section extends and a closed top that extends over the top end of the cap section. The opening in the bellows is located centrally in an interior section of the bellows.
Further features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.